carwasheros

UF CW
R E C O R D
SPRING 2015
Young
Workers
Step Up
Vol. 63, No. 2
At the Next Up Summit,
a new generation of
worker activists take
center stage
Pages 8-9
RWDSU Welcomes
New Members in
New Jersey and New York
Page 15
▼
Retail, Wholesale and
Department Store Union, UFCW
30 East 29th Street
New York, N.Y. 10016-7925
Non-Profit Org
U.S. Postage
PAID
Kelly Press Inc
Victory for
carwasheros
as Strike Ends
Page 3
www.rwdsu.org
Printed in the USA
2
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015
MESSAGE FROM
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Published by the
RETAIL, WHOLESALE & DEPT. STORE UNION, UFCW
30 East 29 Street
New York, N.Y. 10016
212-684-5300
Stuart Appelbaum
President
Jack Wurm Jr.
Sec.-Treasurer
RWDSU RECORD
Official Publication of the Retail, Wholesale &
Department Store Union, UFCW
Produced by RWDSU
Communications Department
Editor, Levi Nayman
Communications Director, Janna Pea
Lenore Miller
President Emeritus
The objectives of the Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union are to unite into this organization all workers
employed in its jurisdiction in order to advance and
safeguard their economic and social welfare…The Retail,
Wholesale and Department Store Union will strive to
preserve democratic processes, protect civil liberties, aid in
the adoption of legislation which will promote the economic
and social welfare of its members and that of labor in
general and to improve the educational, social and cultural
standards of society as a whole. Through unity of purpose
and action, through collective bargaining and legislation,
the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is
dedicated to the ideal of making the jobs of its members
the best jobs that can be devised from the point of view
of wages, hours of work, physical conditions and human
relations. Preamble RWDSU Constitution.
The RWDSU RECORD (ISSN 00337916) is published by
the Retail, Wholesale & Dept. Store Union, UFCW, 30 E.
29 Street, New York, N.Y. 10016-7925. Subscription
price: $3.00. Postmaster: Send address changes to
RWDSU RECORD at 30 E. 29 Street, New York, N.Y.
10016-7925.
President
Stuart Appelbaum
Car Wash Workers Win Strike
and Send a Powerful Message
arwasheros at Vegas Auto Spa in
Brooklyn, New York, have won
their strike and ratified a landmark
contract agreement that includes
wage hikes, strong worker protections and a
$1,500-per-person signing bonus. These
workers stood strong on the picket lines for
four long months – during one of the coldest
winters in memory, and throughout a difficult
holiday season. Their resolve was tested.
They sacrificed for their belief in a voice on
the job and a fair contract. And they won.
Vegas workers – and those at nine other
car washes who have joined the RWDSU during the three-year old WASH New York campaign – have succeeded at winning a voice,
and changing their lives. Workers at every
RWDSU-represented car wash in New York
now have their first union contract.
C
The carwasheros’ victory
wasn’t just a win for
themselves and their
families, but for all low-wage
working people.
Change of Address
New Address (Please print)
Name
Street
City
State/Prov.
Zip/Postal Code
Union Local No.
Please enclose old address label from this issue
of the Record. Please send this form at least two
weeks before moving to:
RWDSU RECORD
30 East 29th Street
New York, N.Y. 10016
Secretary-Treasurer
Jack Wurm Jr.
The carwasheros’ victory wasn’t just a
win for themselves and their families, but for
all low-wage working people, who saw the
power workers can create when they join
together with a union.
Empowering workers is important now
because of the times we live in – a time when
the income equality gap is greater than ever,
when workers and immigrants are increasingly under fire in legislatures across America
and in the Halls of Congress, and when lowwage workers in car washes, fast food restaurants, airports and retail stores are struggling
like never before.
Empowering workers is
important now because of
the times we live in -- a time
when the income equality
gap is greater than ever.
In most parts of the country, millions of
these workers make the federal minimum of
$7.25 an hour. Even where the minimum is
higher, it is still much too low. That’s why
workers are seeking a union voice, and why
we are seeing – and participating in – campaigns like the “Fight for Fifteen” and “LowWage Rage.”
The courageous carwasheros at Vegas
Auto Spa have achieved an inspiring victory
that sends a powerful message to all lowwage workers: You can join together, and you
can win. Together, we can push back against
the growing inequality that threatens our
entire economy. Together, working people can
demand – and win – economic justice. ■
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015 3
Breakthrough
for
NYC CAR WASH WORKERS
Victory at Vegas! Carwasheros End Strike
fter four months on the picket
lines that spanned a brutally cold
winter and a difficult holiday season, ‘carwasheros’ at Vegas Auto
Spa in Brooklyn, New York, have won their
strike and ratified a landmark contract
agreement that includes wage hikes, strong
worker protections and a $1,500-per-person
signing bonus.
It's a resounding victory for the
workers, who went on strike in November
after being denied overtime pay and enduring unsafe working conditions without
proper protective equipment. The facility's
owner also agreed to settle a suit the workers filed for wage and hour violations.
“We went on strike because we
wanted a union contract,” said Vegas carwashero Angel Rebolledo, 53. “We wanted
an end to exploitation, and we wanted fair
wages, fair schedules and protection from
the dangerous chemicals we use,”
Rebolledo added.
A
Rallies and Civil Disobedience
Arrests Help Spur Victory
During the long strike, a number of rallies
and actions were held to bring the community’s attention to the workers’ fight for a
fair contract. One of the biggest was held in
March, when labor leaders including
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum and
UFCW President Marc Perrone, and other
activists and elected officials blocked traffic
in front of the car wash and were arrested.
Before the arrests, hundreds of
activists marched through the streets of
Brooklyn to the facility, and rallied in front
to call for justice.
Community activists,
Activists’ chants of
labor leaders, and
“si se puede” (yes we elected officials
can) and “no contract, marched in the
streets of Brooklyn to
no peace!” echoed
Cawasheros at Vegas
Auto Spa have won
their strike and a fair
contract.
carwasheros
throughout the neighborhood.
They sent a message that the community, workers, and the labor movement
were united in a fight for a fair contract at
Vegas Auto Spa. In the wake of the rally
and the press it generated, negotiations followed and within a few weeks the contract
was won and the strike was ended.
“This is a perfect example of what
can happen when courageous workers stick
together in the face of adversity,” said
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum.
“These brave carwasheros spent four months
on the picket line, without an income, in a
very cold winter. They understand the difference being in a union can make, and I am
proud they are part of the RWDSU.”
The fight for justice for car wash
workers isn’t over. Organizers continue to
work with car wash workers throughout
New York to win a union voice, and the
RWDSU and community activists continue
to urge the New York City Council to pass
and the mayor to sign the Car Wash
Accountability Act, which would require
car washes to be licensed and regulated and
would include strong worker protections.
In its third year, WASH New York –
a joint campaign between Make the Road
New York and New York Communities for
Change, and supported by the RWDSU –
continues to fight to bring a voice to car
wash workers. The campaign shows that
together, low-wage workers can demand
and win economic justice. ■
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum was among those arrested in March in a show of
support for Vegas workers.
demand a contract for
Vegas workers.
Contract Win for Bronx Car Wash Workers
orkers at the East Tremont
Car Wash in the Bronx
have signed a union contract with their employer,
providing wage increases and crucial
worker protections.
The “carwasheros” at the shop
voted 21-4 to join the RWDSU last
August. Workers organized due to low
pay and poor treatment at work, and
despite an anti-union campaign that
included captive meetings and lastminute attempts to win workers over
with perks and promises. With this contract and the ratification of a contract for
W
workers at Vegas Auto Spa, workers at all
nine RWDSU car washes now have their
first union contract.
“For us, there is no turning back,”
said Guillermo Brizuelas, a young immigrant worker from El Salvador, who
received an almost $3 an hour raise with
the new contract.
The two-year contract calls for many
improvements including wage increases in
each year of the agreement, fair scheduling,
better access to overtime work, paid time
off, increased protections for immigrant
workers, and a grievance procedure to protect workers and handle workplace issues. ■
Carwasheros
and the union’s
negotiating
team celebrate
the first
contract for
East Tremont
car wash
workers.
4
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015
RWDSU
A VOICE FOR WORKING PEOPLE
Solidarity and
Support for
RiverVue
Workers
n March, dozens of activists from the
RWDSU and other unions came to
Tuckahoe, New York, to rally in support
of RWDSU Local 338 members at The
Fountains at RiverVue, an assisted living
facility. The workers there are demanding
their employer negotiate a fair contract with
them. Management has refused to bargain
in good faith, and is demanding that
employees pay even more money into an
unaffordable health care plan. In addition
management has pressured and intimidated
employees into giving up on trying to win a
contract.
RWDSU members from locals 262,
670, 1102, 338, and 108 were on hand,
marching in front of the facility and chanting in support of workers, while receiving
honks of support from community members driving by.
“These workers have been without a
contract for too long. It’s time for The
I
Fountains at RiverVue to take care of the
people who take care of those who live at
the facility,” said RWDSU Local 338 President John Durso. ■
CW Post Workers,
Supporters Rally
for Fair Contract
Local 1102 President Gemma de Leon (with megaphone) addresses workers and activists who want a fair
contract for CW Post workers.
large group of Local 1102 members employed by CW Post at
Long Island University were
joined by RWDSU members and
community allies at the school’s Brookville,
New York, campus in March to demand a
fair contract. The members are custodial
and mechanical unit workers at the school.
“I have been working here nearly 16
years and have always been proud to be a
part of Local 1102,” said Bob Picard, a custodian in the maintenance department. “For
three years now, my coworkers and I have
been fighting for a new contract that
includes a pay raise and adequate health
benefits which is long overdue. It’s time for
the administration to quit stalling and give
the workers what we’ve earned.”
Since October 2012, the union and a
A
Activists rally at Long Island University.
committee of workers at CW Post campus
have attempted to negotiate a contract with
the school’s management, and they have
been unwilling to bargain in good faith.
“CW Post employees care deeply
about the future of the university, but the
administration's demands puts too much of
the burden, caused by years of mismanagement and a lack of vision, on the backs of
the very people who keep the campus running smoothly – it's workforce,” said Local
1102 President Gemma de Leon.
Protesters rallied and marched in the
rain, and distributed literature about the
contract fight to students and staff leaving
and entering the university’s campus.
“We will continue to stand with our
members to win a fair contract because
they deserve better,” de Leon added. ■
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015 5
n March, RWDSU activists returned to
the site where 50 years earlier civil
rights pioneers marched for the right of
all Americans to vote. RWDSU members of the Mid-South council were among
thousands who gathered at the Edmund
Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to mark
the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” a brutal police crackdown on civil rights
marchers. That event, along with subsequent
actions in March, 1965, helped create one
of the civil rights movement’s greatest victories, restoring and protecting voting
rights for African-Americans in the South.
RWDSU members participated in
those historic marches, by marching and by
working with civil rights leaders including
Martin Luther King, Jr. during the planning
stages and beyond. Mid-South Council
members helped by bringing supplies to the march
route. It’s a proud part of
our history, and a reason
that RWDSU members
came to commemorate
these historic events that
helped protect voting rights
for generations in the American south.
At the 50th anniversary commemoration,
RWDSU Mid-South Council
members proudly displayed
a banner with the “Without
Change, Nothing Changes”
slogan that has helped
define recent successful
Mid-South Council organizing drives at poultry plants.
“In Alabama, we’ve
seen that by standing together we can fight
back against oppression and make change –
creating a fairer society,” said RWDSU
Mid-South Council President John
Whitaker. “Our union was part of that
change in society during the civil rights
movement, and it’s a part of change today as
we help working people build better lives.”
With voting rights under attack in the
I
RWDSU Marches Again in Selma
RWDSU
members
proudly
displayed their
banner at the
commemoration
event.
Thousands of people – including Mid-South Council members –
celebrated the past and looked to keep voting rights secure in the future.
RWDSU activists of all ages gathered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma,
Alabama.
U.S. by right-wing interests, it’s important to
remember and celebrate the change we’ve
won in the past, while looking to protect
and expand voting rights in the future.
President Obama addressed the rally,
noting how the echoes of history continue
to call Americans to action in defending
“In Alabama, we’ve seen that
by standing together we can
fight back against oppression
and make change.”
our rights today.
“First and foremost, we have to recognize that one day’s commemoration, no
matter how special, is not enough. If Selma
taught us anything, it’s that our work is
never done,” Obama said.
“Fifty years from Bloody Sunday,
our march is not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two hundred and thirty-nine
years after this nation’s founding our union
is not yet perfect, but we are getting closer.
Our job is easier because somebody already
got us through that first mile. Somebody
already got us over that bridge.” ■
RWDSU Celebrates King Legacy in Atlanta
t the 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference in
Atlanta earlier this year, labor and civil rights leaders and activists came together
to commemorate the life of Dr. King, and work to further his dream of social
and economic equality.
It was an opportunity to develop labor-community relationships, and the RWDSU
was there to help reinforce these partnerships.
“This is an important event because the labor and civil rights communities come
together and we work on strategies to make us all stronger. By fostering these relationships
we can grow together. We can protect workers’ rights, civil rights, and voting rights,” said
RWDSU Southeast Council President Edgar Fields. “That’s why the Southeast Council has
been involved with this event since it began back in the 1970s,” Fields added.
The Southeast Council was a key sponsor of the AFL-CIO Georgia Labor Breakfast, where RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum introduced AFL-CIO Executive VicePresident Tefere Gebre – whose path from African political refugee to union member to
labor leader shows the difference the labor, immigrant rights, and civil rights movements
can make in the lives of working people.
RWDSU members also participated in a civil rights march and rally in downtown
Atlanta. ■
A
(left to right) RWDSU member Michael Isler (Chief Steward at Southern Tea), President of N. Georgia/
Atlanta Labor Council Dewey McClain, RWDSU Pres. Stuart Appelbaum, RWDSU Southeast Council Pres.
Edgar E. Fields, AFL-CIO Exec. V.P Tefere Gebre, RWDSU Rep. Greg Scandrett, RWDSU Rep. Sandra L.
Williams, Southeast Council Sec.-Treas. Rick Wilson, RWDSU member Ashley Mount (Aluma Systems Chief
Steward) and RWDSU Communications Director Janna Pea at the AFL-CIO Georgia Labor Breakfast.
6
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015
RWDSU
P O L I T I C A L & L E G I S L AT I V E U P DAT E
TPP Trade Deal Fast Tracks
Economic Inequality
n April, the U.S. House and Senate
began considering “fast track” legislation to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the latest in a long line of
trade deals that are a creampuff for global
corporations and a rotten egg for the rest of
us. “Fast track” would enable quick passage
of the TPP, without any changes or input
from the American public or our representatives.
Fast track is what brought us
NAFTA, a trade deal that unions fought
against back in the early 1990s. It has cost
the U.S. economy hundreds of thousands of
jobs and is one reason why workers in our
communities haven’t gotten a real raise in
decades.
As it currently stands, the TPP is
poised to lower wages and working standards across 40 percent of the world's economy, cost American jobs, and create a
world where there is little corporate
accountability for harming workers, the
planet, and anything else that gets in the
way of profits.
Some are calling the TPP “NAFTA
on steroids,” a so-called free trade agreement that would be the largest trade deal in
history, affecting 729 million people and
I
accounting for 1/3 of world trade.
Details on the deal have been leaked,
and the TPP indeed recalls the worst of
NAFTA – it’s an agreement that would
increase profits by increasing the
power of global
corporations to
undermine labor,
environmental,
health and financial
laws and regulations.
And, it would create
private tribunals to
resolve trade disputes
that aren’t beholden
to countries’ laws –
effectively placing
corporations above the
law in many situations.
Worker-activists are saying no to the
TPP, and saying no to “fast track,” which
would prevent Congress from amending or
changing any provision in the agreement
and force them to vote the entire agreement
up or down after a shortened debate period.
“We need better jobs in our communities that lift people up – not poverty
wages and corporate roadblocks to building
better lives. Rubber-stamping trade deals
Activists worldwide have been
involved in the pushback against
the TPP, including a global “Day
of Action” on April 18.
Rubber-stamping trade
deals like the TPP speeds
up the race to the bottom
for the world’s workers.
like the TPP does nothing to help us
accomplish that, and in fact speeds up the
race to the bottom for the world’s workers,”
said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum.
“We need to fight against fast-tracking of international trade deals like the TPP,
and create a world economy that works for
all of us. We can make a deal that works for
workers. To do that, we have to bring this
debate out into the light of day,” Appelbaum
added. ■
NLRB Union Election Rules Changes Are in Effect
nion organizers are all too familiar
with tactics employers often use to
keep their workers from winning a
union voice. Bosses routinely try to
delay elections and hold mandatory anti-union
meetings to wear down workers who were
enthusiastic about voting yes.
On April 14, new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rules – established by the
board last year – finally went into effect.
RWDSU organizers have already petitioned
for union elections under the new rules, which
are designed to speed up the process and make
it easier for workers to decide if they want a
union to represent them with less interference
from employers. Quicker elections should
mean more successful organizing drives, and
with less time between petitions and votes,
locals can start negotiating contracts and representing workers much sooner.
Here are some of the most important NLRB rule changes that will help
RWDSU organizers and workers who want to join the union:
■ All paperwork can now be filed electronically. Previously, union lawyers had to
spend wasteful amounts of time printing and collating documents to submit to labor
officials and companies. This would drain the union of valuable time and resources.
U
■ Unions can call for a “quickie election.”
The NLRB determined that employees in a
workplace have the right to vote in a timely
fashion on whether to join a union. The board
curbed the procedural tactics that employers
often use to delay a union election and discourage workers.
■ Employees can use work email to discuss
unionization. As long as it is done during
non-work hours, workers will now be allowed
to use their work email system to talk about
whether to join a union.
■ Unions will have better contact information for workers. During a union drive,
employers were previously only required to
give the union the names and home addresses
of workers in the shop. The NLRB now
requires employers to hand over email
addresses and home phone numbers, making it easier to contact interested workers
and discuss the benefits of being in a union.
Under previous Republican administrations, these changes would have been
unheard of.
Time will tell if these rules changes help workers, but on paper these common-sense changes will help level an environment that has been slanted against
workers’ voices for far too long. ■
#ChangeZara
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015 7
Building Better Lives for Retail Workers
he RWDSU’s Retail Action Project
(RAP) is helping workers at retail
store Zara organize and fight for
more hours, better pay, advanced
notification of work schedules, and equal
opportunity for professional growth.
The massive global chain – the
world’s largest fashion retailer – has been
expanding throughout the U.S, profiting off
of its low pay and benefits.
But now, the #ChangeZara campaign is starting to make a difference for
the workers who are the driving force
behind the company’s success and expansion. In 2014, RAP circulated a petition
amongst Zara workers in New York City,
garnering over 1,500 signatures demanding
higher pay and control over scheduling.
In January, workers received a letter
from the company promising higher wages
– up to $14 per hour. Jedidiah Labinjo,
who’s been a sales associate at Zara’s SoHo
location for a little over a year and started
the petition, credits the #ChangeZara campaign for the wage increases.
“I believe that because of this
Change Zara campaign we were able to
have this change happen,” Labinjo said.
“We were able to get a little portion of what
we expected.”
The wage raises are only going to
workers in New York City, and while the
company also said it will increase the number of full-time positions and promote eligible employees to that status, it doesn’t say
how many will be made available. Zara
workers still need more, and ultimately,
they need a union contract to secure regular
wage increases, benefit improvements, and
control over their schedules to ensure they
receive sufficient hours.
T
Clothing with a
Deeper Purpose
To bring attention to the #ChangeZara campaign and Zara workers’ fight to create better jobs, activists from the RWDSU’s Retail
Action Project (RAP) spread the message
that treating workers fairly is always in style
at the Fashion Week event in New York City.
RAP members designed and screen printed
their own clothing, and modeled it during
the popular event’s last day at historic Lincoln Center alongside professional models
who were showing off high-priced fashion
to bloggers and paparazzi.
But unlike those models, Zara workers can’t afford the clothes they sell, much
less the high cost of living in New York.
The activists attracted the attention of Fashion Week attendees with their custom-made
#ChangeZara clothing. And, they asked
attendees “What do you think of clothing
with a deeper purpose?”
“People were intrigued by it, and
wanted to know more. We told them about
Zara workers and their struggles to improve
their working conditions and scheduling
policies,” said RAP member Connor Hicks.
Zara employee Jedidiah
Labinjo (with megaphone)
and other activists call
attention to the
#ChangeZara campaign in
New York City.
You can find out more about the
#ChangeZara campaign and RAP at
retailactionproject.org. ■
(l to r) RAP members Zuleyka Hamilton and Connor Hicks,
with Director of the Retail Organizing Project at RWDSU
Phil Andrews, model their #ChangeZara fashion line at
New York City’s Fashion Week.
RAP Members Fight for $15
n April 15, RWDSU members,
along with the Retail Action
Project (RAP) and members of
the #ChangeZara campaign
participated in the ‘Fight For $15’ march
that took over the streets of New York
City. The event drew attention to the
Fight For $15 campaign, which sees low
wage workers from across the country in
industries including fast food and retail
demanding a liveable wage of $15 an
hour.
During the march of an estimated
700 attendees, Zara employees lead the
crowd in calling on the company to raise
its wages, provide access to full-time
hours and recognize their desire to
unionize. Marchers stopped in front of
the Lincoln Center Zara to call upon the
retailer to treat its workers better.
Fight for $15 marchers demanded better treatment for low-wage workers.
“I’m trying to support myself
while getting my education, but my hours
and wages at Zara just don’t cut it. I have
to live with my parents since I can’t afford to pay bills or make rent otherwise,” Zara worker Darren Frett told the crowd.
“We, as workers, are fed up with this kind of treatment,” Frett added. ■
O
8
Next Up,
A New Generation of N
Worker Activists
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015
oung Americans entering the
workforce today face a host of
challenging obstacles, including
high unemployment and stagnant
wages. But they also represent a big opportunity for the progressive labor movement
to grow stronger, and they stand to benefit
by getting involved in union activism.
Research shows that people under
the age of 30 are likely to have a more
favorable impression of unions than any
other age groups. And yet, few young
workers actually belong to one. Recruiting
a new generation of members could do
more than sustain the labor movement –
it’s the way unions will grow in the future
and bring all of us more power at the bargaining table.
In March, the AFL-CIO hosted the
Next Up Young Workers Summit in downtown Chicago. Over 1,000 union activists
nationwide came together to discuss strategies for getting young people more
involved in labor issues. RWDSU members from the Chicago Joint Board and
Locals 338 and 1102 attended, along with
members of the RWDSU’s Retail Action
Project (RAP).
By necessity, the retail industry will
be central to any effort to organize young
people entering the workforce. Despite the
unemployment crisis of recent years, retail
continues to have the largest number of
projected job openings of any sector. Additionally, there is a high level of dissatisfaction among retail workers who have to deal
with part-time hours, high turnover and
erratic scheduling. This provides opportuni-
Y
U
A large group of Next Up Summit attendees traveled to a Guitar Center store in Chicago’s South Side to
inform consumers about the chain’s anti-worker practices.
ties for the RWDSU’s organizing teams,
including RAP.
One way the labor movement wants
to get young people involved is through
Key figures
■ 9.5 percent of workers between 25 and 34 years old are
unionized
■ 66 percent of workers between 18 and 29 years old have
a favorable impression of unions
■ 8 million young workers are employed in retail – the
largest work sector for young people.
■ 6.1 million young workers are employed in food service.
■ $545 is the median weekly earnings for young union
workers
■ $434 is the median weekly earnings for young non-union
workers
young worker groups. The AFL-CIO has a
panel aimed at youth outreach, known as
the Young Worker Advisory Council
(YWAC). RWDSU Director of International Affairs Sarah Meyer, a member of
YWAC, spoke to the summit’s attendees
about the importance of young worker
groups.
“Young worker groups are a way for
us to work with local labor federations to
take action around political fights, policy
fights and organizing fights that are important to us,” said Meyer. “We can immerse
young activists in all facets of the labor
movement this way,” Meyer added.
Meyer also talked about actions that
AFL-CIO has taken to boost youth participation. The federation has passed a resolution to dramatically increase outreach and
training for young workers. In addition, a
seat for young members has been added to
AFL-CIO’s general board.
“There’s nothing
outside on a S
to get your b
— Dolly M
Young Workers
Power Zara
Campaign
The RWDSU and RAP are on the ground
engaging young workers every day. RAP’s
interim director, Darrah Sipe, says that the
organization is committed to addressing the
issues that young workers face.
“RAP is really dedicated to demonstrating that young workers can have a
voice on the job,” Sipe said. “Sometimes
young workers can feel their voices are
absorbed and lost in a larger workplace
environment.”
At the Next Up summit, RAP organizer Dolly Martinez discussed the campaign to unionize fast fashion retailer Zara.
Martinez, who is 27 years old, noted that
young people were essential to the
#ChangeZara campaign.
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015 9
T
X
E
N
UP
RWDSU activists came
to the Next Up Summit
to get young workers
involved in the labor
movement.
Sometimes young workers can feel
their voices are absorbed and lost in a
larger workplace environment.
g like taking action
Saturday morning
blood pumping.”
Martinez, 27
“I should mention that almost every
single Zara worker who I’ve been meeting
with is under the age of 25,” she told the
Next Up attendees. “And I just want to say
to every single young person who is attending this conference that there is a possibility that you could be up here on this stage
with your own campaign leading, motivating and encouraging every single retail
worker throughout the United States.”
#ChangeZara has achieved some
real victories in New York City. Workers
recently gained access to full-time jobs and
received raises of $1 to $3 per hour. However, Martinez told the summit that work
on the campaign is not yet finished.
“Only Zara workers in New York
City got those raises. Zara workers elsewhere, including here in Chicago, saw
absolutely no changes,” she said. “That’s
why I’m here.”
Martinez, along with other RAP and
RWDSU leaders, took to the streets outside
a Zara location in downtown Chicago to
(right to left) RAP Interim Director Darrah Sipe, RAP Organizer Dolly Martinez, and RWDSU Director of International Affairs Sarah Meyer gave
presentations on young worker involvement at Zara and Walmart, and how the RWDSU’s Retail Action Project is reaching out to young
workers. To their left are a Walmart worker and Our Walmart member, and the UFCW’s Silvia Fabela.
lead an action in solidarity with workers at
the store. The event drew dozens of attendees from the Next Up conference. They
called for regular schedules and fair wages
for the Zara employees in Chicago. The
energy was high as conference members
put the ideas from the conference into
action.
“There’s nothing like taking action
outside on a Saturday morning to get your
blood pumping,” Martinez said.
It’s that kind of energy that the labor
movement seeks to harness in engaging
young workers.
Taking Action at
Guitar Center
The conference heard from members of
RWDSU’s Guitar Center campaign, which
relies on leadership and involvement of
young workers.
Matt Pantelis, a 29-year-old former
Guitar Center worker, told the crowd about
complaints that employees have about the
Guitar Center’s pay structure. Workers at
stores in Las Vegas, Chicago, and New
York have joined the RWDSU and are currently trying to resolve the issue through
contract negotiations.
“Guitar Center directs their employees to push pro coverage – extended warranties – but they don’t cover their pros
with fair treatment and dignity on the job,”
Pantelis said.
The RWDSU led a labor action at a
Guitar Center on Chicago’s South Side.
Unlike the company’s Central Chicago
location, the South Side store is not unionized. The crowd of about 50 labor supporters handed out flyers informing passersby
about some of Guitar Center’s worst practices and ways that the union can make a
better store for customers.
Unions – a Voice for
the Next Generation
of Workers
“Unions are a natural ally for young workers,” Meyer said. “Unions advocate for
issues of central concern to young people:
student loan reform; access to job opportunities; improved wages; a voice in the
workplace; and immigration reform.”
In addition, unions make a clear difference in the lives of young working people, ensuring they receive higher pay and
better benefits. Young workers in a union
earn almost $100 more a week than those
not in a union.
“America’s unions should seize this
opportunity to reach out to young people,
even before they enter the workforce, and
work together. We can achieve our shared
goals of prosperity and pushing back
against economic inequality, and we can
create a fairer economy for everyone,”
Meyer added. ■
10
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015
AFL CIO’s Common Sense Economics Training:
Change the Conversation, Change Our Economy
t the RWDSU Convention last
year, Roberta Reardon from the
AFL-CIO gave a presentation on
Common Sense Economics, a
curriculum designed by the AFL-CIO to
help working people take control over our
economy.
“People should never have to choose
between caring for their sick child, or being
able to go to their job. People should never
A
have to choose between paying for medicine, or paying for food,” Reardon said.
But all too often, decisions like this
have become a hallmark of our broken
economy. It’s an economy that serves the
interests of the wealthy, and has the rest of
us scrambling for the scraps.
The rich are getting richer, and the
poor are getting poorer, and despite work-
ing harder than ever they are receiving less,
all the while being told they are lucky to be
getting it.
And yet, while the vast majority of
Americans are suffering the effects of
growing income inequality, it’s the richest
among us who control the conversation.
Wall Street is setting the economic agenda
and controlling the economic discussion.
And it’s hurting all of us.
The AFL-CIO’s Common Sense
Economics (CSE) training program seeks
to change that by educating workers on
how the economy really works and to help
working people create a voice in this economy. We can change the direction of today’s
economy, and create an economy that
works for all of us.
Core Issues of Common Sense Economics
CSE is broken down into interactive workshops
that are based upon the following areas:
Workonomics:
The Workonomics Guide analyzes how economic
outcomes are the result of political choices.
“Once people understand how politics
affect the economy, we can engage them in conversations about how to change the direction of
the national economy so it helps working people,” Reardon says.
Women and Families:
This workshop helps participants understand the
economic disparities that exist for women, and
the economic challenges families face when
accessing child care.
Immigration:
Young Workers:
The CSE Immigration Guide takes a focused look at our broken immigration system and
its effect on workers. It outlines the contributions immigrants make to the U.S. economy,
and how employers exploit the flaws in the immigration system. This workshop seeks to
engage workers to take action to create an immigration system that works for all.
Analyzes economic trends
and policies that impact
workers under the age of
35, and focuses on how we
can address the financial
crises that plague this debtridden group.
Globalization:
While the vast majority of
Americans are suffering
the effects of growing
income inequality, it’s the
richest among us who
control the conversation.
Global corporations are
manipulating the world economy to the detriment of all workers. This guide seeks to
inspire workers to take action that will have a global impact.
Mass Incarceration:
Participants will learn about how the criminal justice system shapes our lives and the
economy, and how we can work to improve it.
Common Sense Economics Trainings
At the RWDSU Convention last summer, the AFL-CIO’s Roberta Reardon discussed changing the economic
conversation and the direction of our economy.
We can take control of this
discussion, and we can take
control of the economy.
The AFL-CIO has educated over 300 trainers around the country – from unions and community groups, and labor organizations like the AFL-CIO. Union leaders and activists can
bring CSE educators to their meetings, conventions, and training sessions.
To request a training, contact your local union. Visit the Common Sense Economics website at www.aflcio.org/About/Common-Sense-Economics, or email
[email protected] to learn more.
“The economic conversation – controlled by Wall Street – makes it seem like the
economy is like the weather. It’s unpredictable, and it happens, and we succeed or fail based
upon which way the economic winds are blowing. But that’s not so, the economy is not like
the weather, and there are precise reasons for why it isn’t working for us,” Reardon says.
“We can take control of this conversation, among our co-workers, family, and
friends, and then with our elected officials. That’s how we’ll take control of the economy.
It’s time to take action,” Reardon adds. ■
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015 11
News From Around the
New Contract for Kentucky, Indiana Members at Kroger
UFCW Retail Conference
Focuses on
Organizing and
Bargaining
U
FCW Local 227 members who work at Kroger grocery stores overwhelmingly ratified a new agreement by a nearly 4 to 1 margin. The four-year pact
covers approximately 13,900 hard working men and women across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The contract ensures quality, affordable health insurance that includes spousal coverage, and additional insurance options for
part-time members. It also includes a raise for all members each year of the contract and prevented potential pension cuts.
Kroger, one of the world’s largest retailers, employs nearly 400,000 associates who serve customers in 2,625 supermarkets and multi-department stores in
34 states and the District of Columbia under two dozen local banner names.
L
ocal union leaders and
staff from around the
U.S. and Canada gathered in Chicago, Ill., in late
April for a Retail Conference
focused on organizing and
bargaining in the retail and
retail food sectors. Participants broke into groups to create region-wide and
company-wide organizing and
UFCW President Marc
Perrone at the UFCW
bargaining strategies. ParticiRetail Conference.
pants also attended workshops on contract language,
right-to-work and union shop servicing, pension funds,
communications, and health and welfare funds.
“I think bringing everyone together so that we can
rebuild our strength in retail is a great idea. It’s long overdue,” said Mia Contreras, Membership
Action Director at UFCW Local 21.
“Being in the workshops and listening to other locals strategies is a learning
experience. When you hear people talking
about new things, you feel like it’s something you could put in practice at your
own local. At the same time there is a lot
of things we are doing well. I hear a lot of
different locals talking about strategies
and tactics that are working – like working together with community organizations – where we are very successful. The
UFCW is a big family – and it’s great to
hear what works well, and also it is also
great that we are working together in creating new strategies to grow the union
and build a better future for our members. This is what this is conference is
about,” said Joseph Dorismond,
Allegro CNAs vote “union yes!”
Recorder/ Organizing Coordinator,
RWDSU.
Kroger workers will
see numerous
improvements with
their new contract.
A Union Voice for Florida Nursing Assistants
C
ertified Nursing Assistants (CNA) at the Allegro Nursing Home in St. Petersburg,
Florida, have voted to join UFCW Local 1625 so they can change their working conditions and be sure their voice is heard.
“I am so proud of my team today. We stood up to management’s efforts to intimidate
and divide us, and together, we won,” said Eleanor Mitchell, who has worked for Allegro for
25 years. “With a union, we now have
the power to shape a better future at
Washington UFCW Local Lays Groundwork for Organizing Cannabis Workers
Allegro.”
The NLRB election saw over 90
percent of the workers voting to join the
uring a seminar hosted by UFCW
that will allow for a fair and cooperative
help legitimize the cannabis industry with
UFCW.
Local 367, workers in the cannabis
process for workers to join a union,
rules and regulations that focus on
“The courage shown by these
industry learned more about joining a
if they choose. Recently, the local
worker, product, and consumer
workers is extraordinary. These Certiunion.
held a joint seminar with
safety. Worker safety seminars are
fied Nursing Assistants are standing up
The Washington State House and State
cannabis shop owners,
planned following the ratification
for the dignity of all workers in the careSenate recently passed legislation that regu- employees, and the Federal
of a first contract.
taking professions,” said Ed Chambers,
lates the medical and recreational cannabis
Meditation Conciliation Serv“We are pioneers in WashPresident of UFCW Local 1625.
industries and creates a fair and safe disice to lay the framework for
ington for this industry,” said
The workers will now begin negotipensary system. Many cannabis workers in
cannabis workers to choose a
UFCW Local 367 President
ating with Allegro for their first union
Washington are looking forward to having a union voice on the job.
Denise Jagielo. “The cannabis
contract and are looking to create a
union contract to help make their jobs and
Workers say that fair wages,
industry continues to contribute to
fairer and more transparent schedule
shops better for workers and consumers.
fair scheduling practices, and affordthe economic vitality of Washington with
for raises and better working condiUFCW Local 367 has negotiated a neuable benefits are priorities. They also wanted safe, living-wage jobs for their workforce.”
tions.
trality agreement with ten cannabis shops
the opportunity to join a union in order to
D
The United Food and Commercial Workers International
www.ufcw.org
12
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015
RWDSU
CONTRACT NEWS
Indiana Coca-Cola Workers
Win Improvements
Pepsi
Local 513
Rhode Island
Pepsi workers won wage gains
and benefit improvements.
RWDSU Local 835 members in Fort Wayne, Indiana, have
ratified a new five-year contract with their employer, CocaCola. The workers are employed in warehouse distribution,
cold drink equipment service, and vendor delivery.
The new agreement features hourly wage increases
annually, along with protection of the health insurance and
401K program. It also clarifies and provides many language improvements in the areas of seniority, leave of
absence, overtime assignment, paid personal days, holiday
pay and vacation.
Serving on the union's bargaining committee were
Travis Fleischman, Kyle Palm and Demetrius Coleman.
They were assisted by Indiana Joint Board President and
Representative, Dave Altman.
The 130 RWDSU Local 513 members working at Pepsi Bottling
Group, Inc., in Cranston, Rhode Island have a new four-year
agreement that guarantees 3.5 percent annual wage increases.
In addition, all members received a $500 ratification
bonus.
The negotiating committee not only fought back against
all attempts at givebacks, they won improvements to several benefits. The pension benefits were improved, and health insurance
costs were lowered. Retiree benefits were all protected.
Country Fresh Dairy
Local 386
Michigan
RWDSU Local 386 members who work at Country Fresh Dairy
in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ratified a new contract that gives
workers a guaranteed pay raise every year, totaling 11 percent
over the life of the three-year-agreement. In addition, the agreement maintains the RWDSU pension and health insurance programs for full-time workers. Members of the Country Fresh
Dairy plant manufacture dairy products. There are over 150
RWDSU members employed at the plant.
Serving on the negotiating committee were Local 386
President Ken Brown, Chief Steward Mark Kollar, Mike Bowen
and Mike Brougham.
(l to r) Local 835 members Kyle Palm,
Demetrius Coleman and Travis Fleischman of Coca-Cola
Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Perfection
Bakeries
Local 835
Indiana
Connor Corporation
Local 835
Indiana
RWDSU members at Connor Corporation, who produce
rubber, steel, brass, and plastic parts for industrial applications, have ratified a new three-year contract. The new
contract was unanimously ratified, and raises hourly
wages 50 cents each year of the contract. It also increases
company contributions to the pension fund, and maintains
employees’ health coverage with no additional costs.
On Tuesday, March 24, 2015, RWDSU 835 members who work at Perfection
Bakery in Fort Wayne, Indiana, voted to ratify a new two and one half year contract. The new agreement maintains the employees’ union pension and health
insurance coverage, and increases the contribution match in the company 401K
savings plan. Wages will increase by 96 cents per hour over the life of the pact,
and health care coverage will be extended for employees who aren’t working due
to work-related injury. Part-timers will now receive paid funeral leave.
There are 77 maintenance and production workers covered by the contract.
Serving on the bargaining committee were Rod Gerig, Eric Schwartz, and
Tim Rayl. They were assisted by Indiana joint Board President Dave Altman.
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015 13
RWDSU
CONTRACT NEWS
Coca-Cola
Local 513
Massachusetts
Big wage increases highlight a five year
contract for over 500 workers at two CocaCola plants in Massachusetts. Workers at
the two facilities – in Needham and
Waltham, Massachusetts - will see raises
anywhere from 3 to 18 percent each year
of the contract. Members can earn an
attendance bonus of $1,675 annually, and
a ratification bonus and numerous incentives will bring workers more money.
In addition, the contract protects
health care benefits and increases pension benefits, and retirees will be able to
keep their health insurance and all of their other previouslywon benefits. In addition, all existing benefits were protected.
Workers at the two facilities are Local 513 members.
The new contract covers Coca-Cola
workers at two plants in Massachusetts.
14
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015
RWDSU A R O U N D
OUR UNION
RWDSU Immigration Training in
New York, Alabama, and Florida
Southeast Council President
Edgar Fields (standing) at the
Florida training session.
resident Obama’s immigration reforms promise to help countless working
immigrants apply for documentation and a reprieve from deportation. The
RWDSU is committed to helping its members and their families apply for the
benefits of these reforms.
The RWDSU recently held training sessions hosted by the Southeast Council
in Fort Myers, Florida, the Mid-South Council in Birmingham, Alabama, and Local
1-s in New York City. The sessions focused on training staff, union members, and
volunteers from different organizations on how to disseminate information, screen
members, and assist in applying around three immigration processes: naturalization,
deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA), and deferred action for parental
accountability (DAPA).
“These policies represent a great opportunity for countless working people,
and many RWDSU members. We’ve fought for change, and now we’ve gotten it,”
said Mid-South Council President John Whitaker.
“These reforms will help keep families together and provide security for hard
working immigrants. And the RWDSU will be here to help members through the
process,” said Southeast Council President Edgar Fields.
P
The RWDSU is hosting
training sessions across
the country, like this one in
Alabama. .
Commemorating
Triangle Fire Anniversary
n March, hundreds of worker activists gathered in New York City's west village to mark the 104th anniversary of the Triangle Fire tragedy. RWDSU
members – including car wash workers, whose health and safety issues
were one of the reason they have joined the union – were among them.
Carwashero Ernesto Salazar was one of the speakers at the event.
“Working with dangerous chemicals without proper equipment is a hard
way to make a living,” Salazar said. “We need to make sure that workplaces are
safe and workers are protected.”
On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top three floors of the Asch
building, which were being used as a garment factory by the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. The doors on the ninth floor had been locked to keep out union
organizers, and 146 workers either died in the fire or jumped to their death to
escape the flames. The dead were mostly young Italian and Eastern European
immigrant women, some of whom were as young as twelve or thirteen, who
worked fourteen-hour shifts during a 60-hour to 72-hour workweek, sewing
clothes for a wage of $1.50 per week.
The fire put the spotlight on the exploitation of garment workers, who
toiled long hours for low pay in often terribly dangerous working conditions in
sweatshops. The fire and its aftermath resulted in new laws mandating safer
factories. Every year working people mark the anniversary of this terrible
event, and renew the call for safer workplaces and higher safety standards.
But unfortunately, garment workers continue to lose their lives in similar
conditions worldwide while simply trying to provide for their families. In the
last few years we’ve seen astounding tragedies including thousands
who were killed or injured in a
factory collapse in Bangladesh.
“We still have so much to
do,” said RWDSU Health and
Safety Director Steve Mooser.
“No worker should fear for their
life to provide for their family –
and no child should have to worry
that their parent won’t ever come
home from work.”
I
Camille Mackler of the New York Immigration
Coalition helps train shop stewards at Local 1-s
in New York.
Indiana
Local Officer
and Unit Elections
WDSU members at Holsum Bakery, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, held their general
election for Unit Officers. Elected to new two year terms of office were:
Chairman Kevin Degitz, Vice- Chairman Paul Harless, Jr, Chief Steward
Lloyd Schaper, Jr., Recording Secretary Francis Ikudabo, and Sergeant-AtArms James Goodpaster.
There are 79 RWDSU Local 835 members in the Production and Maintenance
Unit at Holsum Bakery.
Local 835 also held elections for officers of the local earlier this year.
Elected to new three year terms of office for Local 835 were President and Delegate Dave Altman, SecretaryTreasurer and Delegate Kevin
Degitz, and Recorder and
Delegate Lloyd Schaper, Jr.
RWDSU Local 835
members work for a dozen
different employers. Local
835 members include bakery
workers, warehouse workers,
clerical workers, janitors,
and soft drink and electronics workers.
R
(l to r) Francis Ikudabo, Paul
Harless, Jr., James Goodpaster,
Kevin Degitz and Lloyd Schaper, Jr.
RWDSU member and car wash worker
Ernesto Salazar (right at podium)
addresses the Triangle Fire
commemoration, discussing the
ongoing importance of health and
safety.
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015 15
RWDSU A R O U N D
OUR UNION
Local 108-Backed Center
Opens to Offer Citizenship Help
n April 21 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the state opened an immigrant
advocacy center to provide U.S.
citizenship application assistance
including preparatory classes for the citizenship test and referral, notary and translation
services, at low- or no-cost to Union County
residents. The center opened as a result of a
cooperation between the state and Working
Families United, a coalition of labor and
community organizations led by Chairman
and RWDSU Local 108 President Charles
N. Hall, Jr.
It’s the second such center opened in
New Jersey.
“Becoming a citizen can be complicated, and we want to help any way we can,”
Hall, Jr., said. “This is a diverse community,
O
RWDSU Local 108 President Charles N. Hall, Jr. (far left) with elected officials and community leaders at the
ribbon cutting for the We Are One New Jersey — Union County Center.
RWDSU W O R K E R S W I N N I N G A
and many RWDSU Local 108 members
will benefit from the services offered at the
We are One New Jersey — Union County
Center. Local 108 was proud to help lead
the efforts to open this center.”
Some 52,000 Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) live in Union County, including diverse and vibrant populations of
Colombians, Ecuadorians, Portuguese,
Haitians, Filipinos and more.
For more information on the programs and services available through We
Are One New Jersey — Union County
Center, call 908-355-4444 or email center
Executive Director Elizabeth Montes at
[email protected]. ■
UNION VOICE
Laminated Workers Win Local 262 Voice
hen working people join together, they can create a powerful voice
and demand respect. That’s why workers at the Laminated paper
products plant in Linden, New Jersey, voted to join RWDSU Local
262 on March 6.
The mostly Latino workforce of 40 at Laminated reached out to Local 262
after hearing about the difference the local has made in the lives of workers at
other workplaces in the area. Workers demanded changes after years of poor treatment and pay.
“We were tired of working for low wages without yearly increases, and the
working conditions were unsafe,” said Laminated worker Jose Roman. “We had no
benefits, no health care, and a lack of dignity and respect. Intimidation, harassment,
and favoritism were all everyday parts of the job.”
Management brought in anti-union consultants that held captive meetings
in groups and one on one, threatening workers with immigration action and plant
closure. But Laminated workers weren’t tricked.
“They fought off these hostile anti-union consultants, and voted with their
hearts,” said RWDSU Organizer
Luis Lopez. ■
W
Laminated workers joined RWDSU Local 262 to win a voice and respect at work.
School Building Workers
Join Local 670
aintenance and kitchen workers at Yeshiva of Queens in
New York City are long-term
employees who have gone
years without medical or pension benefits,
and most never received wage increases.
When the workers at the Jewish private
school heard about the difference a union
contract can make from workers at a neighboring building who are Local 670 members, they called the RWDSU to try to
make a change.
M
The result was an overwhelming
union election victory for the workers at the
Jewish private school.
“We heard from them, and I headed
right over. Workers were very enthusiastic
and they were ready to win themselves a
union voice,” said RWDSU Organizer Mike
Mesa, who spearheaded the campaign.
“They wanted a union and they wanted it
quick.”
There are 900 students at the school. ■
16
VOL. 63 NO. 2 I SPRING 2015
RWDSU H E A L T H
AND SAFETY GUIDE
3s
Keeping Workplaces Safe
With the Three Rs
s kids, many of heard about the importance of education via the folksy “Three
Rs” of “Readin’, Ritin’, and Rithmatic’.” In the world of health and safety, we
have three Rs too. They can be very important to help workers get home in the
same condition as when they began their day. These Three Rs are:
A
The Right to Know
The Right to Understand
The Right to Act
Knowing
A strong labor driven movement arose in the late 1970s demanding workers have a right to
know about the hazardous substances they work with. OSHA had no regulation in that
area. The movement was successful in getting a number of laws passed in cities and states.
At one hearing before the City Council in Philadelphia, advocates uncapped a cylinder
which started to release air into the room. Council members became alarmed. Cries of
“What’s in the tank?” and “What are we being exposed to?” echoed through the halls.
Nothing at all poisonous was being released, but the stunt made a point. People
have a right to know what they are exposed to. As more jurisdictions adopted Right to
Know requirements, OSHA adopted the Hazard Communication Standard. The standard
requires that employers compile an inventory of all hazardous substances in their workplaces and develop a written Hazard
Communication program. Management needs to obtain information sheets from
manufacturers on all hazardous substances, make sure
chemicals are properly labeled
and, at the time of initial employment,
train their employees on safe chemical use and
other protective measures. It is one of OSHA’s best standards, but unfortunately one of its
most violated when inspections reveal that employers fall short in meeting their legal
responsibility.
Workers have a right to know
what they are exposed to.
As of June 1, 2015 chemical labels in our workplaces should show standardized
GHS information and our employers should have Safety Data Sheets (SDSs). These new
sheets should include 16 distinct, consistently listed sections of information about the
product and include a specific pictogram and signal word which highlight the category
and severity of the hazard. For example the symbol should highlight if a chemical is flammable, very toxic, can burn the skin or shouldn’t mix with other chemicals.
Acting
Talk with others —
If you are concerned about
a hazard, chances are your
coworkers are as well.
The Right to Act is not
written into health and
safety regulations. It is
something we must do
together to make our workplaces safer. There are many
ways we can do this. First we can talk
about health and safety issues when we see them. Hazards can be reduced and injuries can be prevented. If you are concerned about a hazard,
chances are your coworkers are as well.
We can build health and safety updates into regular union meetings and conduct
regular worksite audits. We can create a health and safety committee to be the focus point
for gathering information and putting pressure to get needed changes.
The General Duty Clause of the OSHA law, Section 5(a)(1), states it is the legal
responsibility of the employer to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards which are
likely to cause death or serious injury. Together we can challenge our employers to “walk
the walk”, to commit the human and financial resources to make our workplaces safer, to
train supervisors that safety is at least as important as production and to hold them
accountable for safety system failures.
We can also act with the power of our contract to develop and fight for language on
health and safety, especially in areas like ergonomics (lifting, repetitive work risks etc.)
where there is no OSHA standard. And we can use the grievance process to address specific hazard concerns.
None of us go to work wanting to get injured. Together we can take our knowledge
and work experience to win changes that will make us all safer. ■
Understanding
OSHA maintains that to be effective all worker training should be easy to understand. One
of the key elements of the Hazard Communication Standard is the requirement that your
employer obtain Material Safety Sheets (MSDs) for each hazardous substance in your
workplace and that the sheets be “readily accessible” to you and your coworkers. However
frequently these sheets, which are prepared by the manufacturers of the chemical products,
are difficult to read and understand. In order to address this issue OSHA has adopted the
Global Harmonized System (GHS) of the classification and labeling of chemicals. The
purpose of GHS is to make chemical hazard information more consistent and understandable, and to better highlight the most significant hazard of a chemical. This means changes
we should see very soon in our workplaces.
More Information
For more information about GHS requirements – or more about your rights to know, understand, and act,
contact the RWDSU Health and Safety Department at (212) 684-5300. ■